How Far Will You Go?
by Geno77
Summary: Rayman has had a mix-up that seemed to have an easy fix. But when one of his closest friends decided to solve things in a way Rayman never agreed to, trouble only further spirals from there. Who else can Rayman still trust as things are no longer what they seem on the surface? Takes place in Rayman3, with lots of mentioning and usage of points from Rayman2.
1. Chapter 1

"LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT OF HERE!"

White-gloved fists beat against the wooden door vigorously, with enough force that it should have broken at the second hit, and yet it only took more and more. Rayman poured all his might into those blows, fist faintly glowing with the magic of the Lums he'd last had being put to use. But to no avail.

The door was still shut, and no matter what he did, it wouldn't budge. He'd already broken off the doorknob trying the civil way. Now, in growing desperation, he was taking to going al out against it.

Rayman didn't care that he was growing weary, that his muscles ached from strain at the wild exertion. All he focused on was getting OUT of this place. This horrible, horrible-

Something cold and sharp pierced through his back, making him freeze mid-swing. His energy drained, and he felt like he was about to faint. Like a giant had toppled over onto him, leaving him paralyzed as chills shuddered through him unpleasantly.

On the ground, he struggled to keep his eyes open. It was so hard to see, with so little light and his head feeling like a beating drum-

Moonlight flickered from behind the clouds and through the window, only to gleam off of technology that's metallic sheen gave the hero flashbacks. Back to when he'd been back home, back when the ships had come down, nearly killed them all,_ beat and insulted and murdered and __**enslaved**_-

Rayman gasped, fear flooding him with adrenaline. The name of the ones responsible for nearly ravaging everything he held dear rang again and again through his mind, like a mantra. A tune of bitterness, of hatred. Motivation.

With renewed strength, he fought again, almost breaking free. Yet another mysterious weapon landed a blow upon him, weakening his body be this time, not his focus or resolve. Eyes burning with determination, he yelled and thrashed. He nearly destroyed the lifeless mechanism that pulled him closer and closer, like ant lion's trap of sand.

He called out to his 'friend', the one who had tricked him into this place. As he was hit again and again by that weapon he couldn't see, injected with some sort of poison, he grew more and more scared.

At one point, he couldn't even move most of his body, only his face. Limp and terrified, the limbless boy was forced to watch as his body was shifted into place, as restrictions bound him down by unseen hands that reflected back the moon and starlight coldly with silver shine.

Voice hoarse and tears streaming from his eyes, the brave hero who'd endured so much cried out one last time for his dear friend, who'd helped him, never betrayed him like this before. Nothing like this...

The name jarringly crashed through the walls, to the outside where the-once-friend flittered anxiously, startling him as the crackle of electricity soared from within those walls.

"**_MURPHY!_**"

And then the hero knew no more.


	2. Chapter 2

The stream passed through the shallow rivet it's traveled through for years, its soft current pushing and pulling at the object in its path. One such object dipped inside, filling with the crystal clear liquid, before being hefted out and carried a little ways away.

The creature carrying the bucket stopped in front of their charge, before flipping said bucket upside down without any hint of subtlety.

Rayman jolted upright, the icy water that had been dumped upon him leaving him sputtering and anxious. Darting his gaze around, he soon found the culprit and muttered a huff in disapproval. The guilty party merely laughed, a big, boisterous chuckle that Rayman couldn't keep himself from smiling at as well.

"Aw, come on Glow! What's up with the water-wake up call! It's been a full _week_ since I did that prank with the pies and the Mr. Fluffertons*! Are you seriously not over that yet?" Rayman asked, trying his best to regain his annoyed expression but failing miserably alongside his cheerful voice and casual grin.

The large, sky-blue skinned frog rolled his eyes. "_NOPE._ Nice try though. I'm _still_ finding pieces of blueberry stuck onto furniture and some of the 300 kids I've got to take care of that have somehow been managing to evade bath time. You're just luck I didn't add any ice-"

"You DIDN'T?!" Rayman's eyes widened, face goofy looking with honest amazement. "GEEZ, That stuff was FREEZING though! I might've frozen a little if it's been any colder!"

The two continued to goof off, the sun setting and leaving the sky a steadily darkening teal, the sounds of the wildlife background to their jokes and subsequent laughter.

Rayman hadn't had such a good time in _forever_, it felt like. Sure, things had quieted down after he'd dealt with those hunters, fixed the agriculture disputes and found a way to preserve swamp while still figuring out where else the Teensies could continue to develop their little towns. But Glowbox had been so preoccupied with his own family, what with all his children's birthdays taking up over 2 months to fully organize, celebrate and clean up afterwards, rinse and repeat over 200 times.

It wasn't until some owl started complaining in it's song over how loud they were being that the 2 realized the time it was. Looking up, the stars were starting to come out rapidly, and the clouds blending together with the darkening sky.

"Whoops! Sorry Glow, I didn't mean to keep you for so long! You have to get back to your family before it gets too late- Larry can't go to sleep without you to tuck him in and everyone knows it!" Rayman apologized, recalling the loud yells of the tiny Glute for his daddy one night when Glowbox hadn't gotten home soon enough and his wife had tried to tuck him in instead.

Instead of rushing off, however, Glowbox's face still had a relaxed smile. Triumphant, even. He waved off Rayman's concern casually, "Nah, I made a little deal with him earlier today," the experienced father gave his best buddy a wink. "That if he goes to bed this time, tomorrow I'm going to let him stay up all night with me and watch the stars from that canopy he likes, you know, the one by the waterfall? Always been his favorite."

"Haha! You are _devious!_" Ray launched a powerless punch at the Glute's shoulder, only for the giant to topple over overdramatically.

"Ha ha, but where do you think I got it from, Ray?" Glowbox asked, rolling over onto his stomach... Before pouncing with a childish roar at the limbless. The scrawny hero wouldn't have stood a chance had he not been fast. Even so, he lost a hand to that belly flop.

The 2 friends continued to roughhouse and just have a great time under the starlight, until they were both were worn out. Rayman and Glowbox rested, back to back, smirks on their faces wide enough to fit an entire cake in one bite.

Ray couldn't believe just how good he felt, how happy and carefree. So at peace, so _perfect_. He just didn't want it to ever end.

He looked up at he stars, feeling lazy and at ease. The constellations were so pretty... but... then they were starting to blur. Everything seemed to get a little hazier- was he falling asleep? The breeze turned cold in an instant, giving him shivers, and his body felt heavy, compressed to the ground. He couldn't move, everything feeling tingly and numb.

It was getting harder and harder to focus, when through the unclear blurs of color he spotted something in the distance. Something coming towards them, steadily, from far, far away. From the deep, dark sky, he saw some sort of white and black flag-

Rayman felt like gravity was reversed as he was still unable to move. Like he wanted to jump up and run, run as fast as he could. Before everything went into darkness one thing ran again and again through his mind:

_"The Pirates were here and they're __**coming to destroy.**_"

*-Glowbox's family pet, a very fluffy dog/sheep mix creature. He's usually napping somewhere or mistaken for a bed and slept on by the kids without incident. Glowbox himself has even mistaken the creature as a pillow one time.


	3. Chapter 3

"Wow and I thought I lived in a weird place."

The world was warped and shifting, making an incoherent mess, but still the hero was comfortable navigating it. Muscle memory more than anything else gave assurance, and even their own looks would change at a moment's notice.

It was then that Rayman spotted a familiar green splotch with a Cheshire grin.

"Wait Murphy is that you? What are you doing here?"  
Rayman asked as he idly punched down a fruit his size and began riding it about down a slide around blurry musical notes.

_"Oh that's easy! I was the last person you saw, so I'm the most distinct thing on your mind right now as you're recoiling from those poisons and amnesiac medication! Come on, Ray you're not that dumb, ask me an actual question!"_

"Oh, okay then- why did you DO that thing? You know, lock me up, lie to me, that sorta thing?"  
The limbless asked as he was dressed in disco cloths, dodging a huge bug that occasionally warped into an opera singer in a washing machine.

_"Another easy one? You clearly hoped timelines, Ray. Not only was I acting weird, but- Oh better dodge that rolling pin's lazerblasts, those sting, remember!"_

The dancing protagonist obliged, grabbing onto pink, winged Os to propel himself into safety for the time being.

_"Anyways, I'd never be such an absolute monster to my bestest friend ever! You always listen to my advice, even when I'm being less than helpful- even banter with me! Would never betray you buddy. That guy with a modified version of this work-of-art-face is not the real-deal you know so well and adore."_

"So, different Murphys, I'm being stuck in a place like the Glade but different, and someone doesn't want me to know its different from the one I'm from because. . . ?"

The smudge with wings shrugged, watching as Rayman was knocked back by a well-timed bolder that would flicker to a spiked, jeweled fruit.

_"Hey you got me there. I'm the manifestation of the extent you're capable of reasoning out of this mess you've stumbled into, now with little way out! Once you've worked out what you can, you're gonna get booted out of your subconscious dreams and memories, you know that right?"_

"Well, I do now- say, why's all this stuff so familiar and stuff? This doesn't look like the Glade at all, none of it does!"

_"Well, maybe not the 'Glade', but certainly a '_Valley'_. You have one more question, kid, better make it count."_

The limbless hero stopped, looking at what was clearly his friend now, in all but the eyes that were shrouded. He looked younger, hair lighter, blonde even, and worry set to his face.

"You said subconscious before. . . . How much of this will i even remember when I wake up?"

The supposed Greenbottle stopped smiling, just for a moment, before their grin returned. . . In an odd way.  
_"Oh, not to worry, Ray, you'll remember plenty of what's important to you getting through this adventure _alive_,"_

Their eyes could be seen. . . but, they were _**yellow**_.  
_"You'll remember __**enough**__. Good luck, hero-boy."_

With that, the twisted world began to grow darkerer and darker, until the hero was swallowed up by it all, struggled useless, words muffled into silence. The yellow eyes still beaming brightly, intensely into their drowning company like a light far too bright; yet still icy and uncaring.

_"And should it be poor enough, we'll meet again __**real soon**__. . ."_

[AN:I am so immensely sorry it has taken me THIS long to get back to this. I'd reread it and read it again every now and again, trying to figure out how to pick up, but with exhaustion, adrenaline and sugar, ideas got a foothold to action this time. Thank you to everyone who's ever shown interest in this, who've waited. Hopefully I can maintain a trend of working on these stories but who knows what'll come my way. No matter what, I hope to entertain you and that I've succeeded this time!  
To clarify in case of any confusion:

Rayman was knocked out by something in a syringe that was meant to make him forget his past, and had been reliving a pleasant past memory. As it was fading before him, along with others, those of the catastrophic event of the Space Pirate Invasion sparked a drastic conflict in his mind. Paralyzed physically and unable to break out of this struggle, he slipped deeper into his subconscious where he was isolated and could better comprehend what was happening to himself. The mismatched world there should ring a few bells for those that know the earlier iterations in the Rayman Series, and now its time for the story to move forward, and Rayman to wake up.]


End file.
